How a great society became law

The civil rights laws and social programs initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid-1960s transformed U.S. society. Although they were highly controversial at the time, laws establishing Medicare and Medicaid, public broadcasting, help to those in poverty, consumer and environmental protection, the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities and many other programs remain in place today. Though President John F. Kennedy introduced civil rights legislation shortly before his death, it was his successor, Johnson, who was able to get the legislation passed and move on to other aspects of what became known as the Great Society.

The heart of a kingdom

There are all kinds of lies and prevarications in the aptly titled The Kiss of Deception, the new book from award-winning author Mary E. Pearson. Princess Arabella Celestine Idris Jezelia (or Lia, as she prefers to be called), First Daughter of the House of Morrighan, does not want to marry the unseen prince from a neighboring country. Lia—accompanied by her lady’s companion, Pauline—forsakes her parents’ wishes and runs away on her wedding day.

The superhero anti-hero

Quick question: If you could have any super power, what would it be? OK, quick second question: What would you do if you had that super power, but it was illegal to use it? That’s the question that plagues Marvin, the protagonist of Hero Worship. Marvin and his friends Yvonne and Kent all have powers (Marvin’s is incredible speed), but they’ve been classified as...

Summer love in the spotlight

Ellie O’Neill is probably the last person you’d expect to get involved with a movie star. She doesn’t really care about celebrities, and a secret in her own family’s past has made her skittish of even the idea of fame. Thanks to a misspelled email address, however, Ellie finds herself the unwitting pen pal of none other than Graham Larkin, teen heartthrob, who is about...

The inside story of Jimmy Hoffa's downfall and disappearance

Once a giant of the American labor movement, albeit a flawed one, Jimmy Hoffa has now been reduced to the punch line of virtually every joke that involves a sudden and mysterious disappearance. His name was resurrected most recently when archeologists discovered the long-lost bones of King Richard III buried beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England. The remains of Hoffa, who disappeared on...

Love is in the air

“Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?”For Hadley Sullivan, heading from JFK to London as a reluctant bridesmaid in her father’s (second) wedding to a woman she hasn’t met, four minutes means she misses her flight. It means that she may not make it to the ceremony in time. Most of all, it means being rebooked on the next flight and sitting...

A delicate balancing act

Until recently, L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s 16-book (and counting) Saga of Recluce was one of the few substantial epic fantasy series of which I had not read at least a book or two. (My apologies to Terry Goodkind, as well.) The release of Tor’s 20th Anniversary Edition of The Magic of Recluce,the first book in the series, seemed like a good time to redress that oversight.The Magic of...

The complicated life and loves of Ruby Oliver

Over the course of her high school career—and three previous novels—Ruby Oliver has developed quite a reputation, at least in her own mind. She’s the unstable girl, the one who has to see a shrink, the constant worrier who’s prone to panic attacks. As readers have also discovered, however, Ruby’s also very, very funny, a hyper-verbal observer of high school and...

Innocence lost, friendships forged

David E. Hilton doesn’t start out slowly—his compelling debut, a haunting coming-of-age story set during the 1960s at a reformatory school in rural Colorado, tackles human nature at its most fundamental levels, pitting good against evil, friendship against betrayal and innocence against corruption.After years of horrifying abuse against him and his mother, 13-year-old William...